Cheese Terms

Here are cheese terms used in this article. For more cheese terms, see our Cheese Glossary.

Artisan Cheese: Artisan cheese refers to cheese that is produced in small batches, with particular attention paid to the traditional cheese maker’s art. As little mechanization as possible is used in the production of the cheese. Artisan cheeses may be made from any type of milk; flavorings and inclusions (nuts, fruits, herbs, flowers, etc.) may be added. See also farmstead cheese for the difference between artisan cheese and farmstead cheese.

Caerphilly: A mild, light-colored, almost white, crumbly cheese made from cow’s milk, and known for its saltiness. The story is that the cheese was developed to provide the coal miners with a convenient way of replenishing the salt lost through hard work over ten hour shifts. Real farmhouse Caerphilly production died out during World War II, as all milk had to go to the Cheddar factories to help the war effort, and the Welsh cheese industry never recovered. Factory Caerphilly is dry and crumbly. Artisan Caerphilly, made today by just two or three producers, is dry in the center and creamy at the edges.

Curds: Cheese is made of curds, which are obtained by curdling (coagulating) milk with rennet (an enzyme) or an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar; then draining off the whey. The milk solids become curds when an acid (vinegar, lemon juice) or enzymes are added.

Farmhouse Cheese or Farmstead Cheese. A cheese that is made on the farm by the farmer, using only the milk from the farmer’s own herd or flock, on the farm where the animals are raised.

Rennet: Rennet is a coagulating enzyme that is added to milk as the first step in making cheese. The traditional source of rennet is the abomasum (fourth stomach or rennet stomach) of slaughtered, milk-fed new-born calves or other young ruminants. It is also possible to produce rennet from fungi.

Table Cheese: A cheese that is eaten as a course at the table, or on a platter at a party, as opposed to a cheese used as recipe ingredient for cooking, grating or, e.g. in sandwiches.

Vegetarian Cheese: A cheese that is not made with rennet. Rennet, a dried extract of the rennet membrane of a calf, is used to curdle the milk in the cheese making process. Animal products are not eaten by vegetarians. Vegetarian cheeses like paneer (panir) are curdled with lemon juice, other food acids or vegetable “rennets.”

Buy Red Dragon Online

If you can’t find Red Dragon locally, you can buy it at online, for $20.67 (as of publication date) per pound.